So there I was, standing in line at the grocery store.
Ho-hum.
The elderly gentleman in front of me was obviously a bit bored with the long line too because he turned around and start to examine what was in my shopping cart.
What was in my cart, you ask?
Nothing much as I don’t buy a whole lot at the grocery store. As I recall, there was a bag of organic Fuji apples, a bunch of seltzer water in glass bottles, gourmet butter in foil packaging, and several bags of epsom salts.
Yes, just about one of the most boring shopping carts you’ve ever laid eyes on. No colorful bags or boxes to be seen anywhere.
This gentleman fixes his gaze on the seltzer and starts telling me a story about when he was a child in Queens, New York and this yummy drink he and his brothers made out of club soda.
Do people like to spontaneously start talking to you when in line? Happens to me all the time. I think I have “one of those faces” if you know what I mean.
Curious, I took the bait and asked him what kind of a drink he made.
With a twinkle in his eye, he tells me that they mixed club soda, milk, and chocolate syrup and that it tasted so great on a hot summer day. He told me quality food was hard to come by and this drink made the milk stretch a bit further during the Depression.
Even more curious as this drink did not at all sound yummy to me, I asked how much club soda and milk were used.
He said the drink was mostly club soda with just a bit of milk and chocolate syrup.
He assured me that my kids would love it and that I should try it.
After I arrived home, I told my kids the story and asked if they wanted to try out the drink. They all thought it sounded disgusting too but were game to give it a go since it came so highly recommended from someone who had obviously remembered it fondly for many, many years.
Fizzy Iced Chocolate
Tentatively, we mixed some raw grassfed whole milk, organic chocolate syrup and seltzer water in the following proportions:
75% seltzer, 25% milk, and a dash (no more than a tsp or so) of chocolate syrup. Carob syrup would work beautifully too. The key to this drink is to serve it really cold if possible! To my children’s delight, the drink formed a nice fizzy head on top like an ice cream soda!
If you are allergic to milk, I feel pretty sure this would be great with whole coconut milk too.
All three kids agreed after trying it that it tasted great! We decided to name it Fizzy Iced Chocolate. This is a nice drink to try if you are out of kombucha or other healthy, homemade fermented beverages loaded with probiotics and want something fizzy on your throat and (hopefully) don’t keep any soda around the house.
In fact, two of my children have asked me to pack it in their lunchboxes once in awhile.
The moral of this story is to chat up the folks in the grocery line. You never know what kind of crazy stuff or Depression Era recipes you are going to learn about!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
|
|
{ 73 comments… read them below or add one }
The real name for this drink is an “egg cream” even though there’s no egg in it. And they are yummy!
Egg cream?! Wow, I never would have thought that! Thank you for solving that mystery
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Fizzy Iced Chocolate
Isn’t that so funny?? No egg in an “egg cream”! We just moved to New England and had started seeing these egg cream sodas on menus around town, especially near the beach. I wondered what the heck that was but Matt (from PA) knew and said he’d seen them at the Jersey shore when they used to vacation there. It’s definitely a NY thing…and where NYers vacation!
We haven’t tried them because they are typically made with icky ingredients, but I never thought of trying it at home…thanks!! And, I love talking to people at the store- people usually remark on my cart and ask questions, and I find it’s a good way to get a convo going about healthy real food eating. I always talk to the cashiers about grassfed meats and butter and tell them it’s a shame they don’t carry raw milk at the stores. 
(Well, SOME stores do actually- one local grocery chain, the natural foods stores and then if we go into Maine we can find it many, many places!)
Amy Love @ Real Food Whole Health\’s last post: Fresh Bites Friday August 24, 2012
That is so amazing I have never seen them having gone to grad school in Philly and spending the summer weekends between my 2 years there at the Jersey shore (with cousins of my Sister in Law) all the time. Food was not important to me at that point in my life though. I basically lived on scrambled eggs as that was all I could afford to eat (sometimes I lived on $10 from Sunday to Friday when i got paid for my 20 hour a week internship). I guess eggs weren’t such a bad thing .. I couldn’t even afford fast food !!!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Fizzy Iced Chocolate
Yes, I used to drink them in soda shops as a child in Brooklyn!
Yes, Egg Cream Soda!” On my first trip to The Big Apple I had to have one, a Black and White Cookie too, and I watched it made. They didn’t use milk though, but real cream, or maybe half and half? It was very cold and hit the spot on a hot August day in NYC. The key I was told to make it authentic is a special soda in one of the soda bar type seltzer bottles, you know, metal with a spritzer or squirt top? Anyway, thanks for reminding me of Egg Cream Sodas; might try one but using the good ingredients Sarah used. Cheers!
Yes, in New york – you can still get the old fashioned egg cream – some of the fancier places though charge a ton.
Can you write down how to make the Egg Cream Soda?
Yes, indeed, egg cream and anyone from New York would have recognized your description immediately, LOL! We are in South Florida and there are a few places here that still make them, but they are easy to make at home. Yummy!
Sounds worth a try! Sometimes I wonder what the cashiers think when I check out… I buy a lot of butter, sour cream, some produce, lunch meat, larabars, tortilla chips, and sprouted bread. And I hardly ever have any coupons! After being so used to the couponing craze, they always ask, “any coupons?” and I just have to say, “Not for this stuff…” (I guess real food isn’t a big rebate/coupon/money-maker for the stores, huh?)
Megan\’s last post: Why Gabe sports a surfer-dude necklace
Egg creams were still popular when I grew up in NYC in the 70s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cream
I LOVE looking in other people’s shopping carts at the checkout! Fun post
And thanks for fixing it so we can right-click on links!
I was going to say…that’s an egg cream! Love them, but totally forgot about them until now. Thanks for the reminder!
Hey sarah, buying seltzer water by the bottle is pretty expensive here when we have filtered water through a reverse osmosis system at home, would you suggest purchasing a sodastream to make our seltzer at home or is this a different thing? Maybe its called something different here in aus
sounds like you use seltzer often tho!
This post made me smile! A lot of older folks here still remember the unpasteurised milk in the 50′s where it would be delivered at your door with a bucket and they all talk of that yellow cream floating on the top. Living in dairy-Holland it’s the same story almost every time: How those were the times…
Heleen\’s last post: Courgette Pannenkoekjes – Graanvrij
Years and years ago I accidentally poured 7-Up into a cup that had a little milk at the bottom. Since I was a guest, I felt like I should just drink it and not say anything. To my surprise, I loved it. Who would think that a bit of milk in watery fizz would be delicious?? Thanks for the reminder–seltzer water is on the grocery list!
Amy\’s last post: What do you put in your soap? (part 1)
Yum!
My parents called it an “Egg Cream”. They were raised in Brooklyn during the Depression/WW2 years. And–sorry!–they had no idea why it was called an egg cream when it had no eggs.
I grew up drinking these.
Since I am new to the Tampa area, and don’t really know anyone yet, I have become one of those people who will start chatting with people in lines. I’m glad you spoke with him. A lot of the time, people just stare at me for a moment and then look away. I get comments from the check out folks about “only buying healthy stuff” at the store and no coupons. I’ll have to make some homemade chocolate syrup and give this a try!
Those are now generally called Italian Iced Sodas. They’re awesome.
That looks like an egg cream!
=) we bought an old-fashioned ice cream vending booth last year that we set up at local events. We added ice cream floats and old-fashioned sodas (made from seltzer water we make in a seltzer bottle). My husband found a recipe for a Boston Egg Cream soda which is exactly what this is. I came across recipes for Italian sodas that are similar (seltzer and milk), just different flavors. We added those to the menu, too!
Thanks for sharing Sarah I’m gonna try this too…with a healthy coffee added. Yum! or Tea! Yum! the possibilities!
I’ve always known it as a Chocolate egg cream.
Sounds yummy for Florida summers. Thanks for sharing!
A lot of great folks in that era!
Sarah, what brand of seltzer water do you buy? Are they all created equally?
Yay! I love New York chocolate egg creams – that’s what they are called, but no egg. ALL of the old school delis sell this, like Katz’ Delicatessen and Carnegie Deli, etc. I love ordering them when I go to NYC.
I first had one of these in the fourth grade and they are pretty good. You can also make them with Almond Milk. I think we had them because they were in the book Harriet The Spy.
Sounds yummy to me. If you added a scoop of iced cream it sounds just like the chocolate sodas we used to get when I was a kid at an old fashioned drug store. I’m definitely going to try it
I will have to give this a try. I love old recipes.
Carbonated beverages are not good for you, any reason for using seltzer?
@ Chris Habgood: Since when are carbonated beverages not good for you?
Seltzer water is perfectly fine for humans to consume. Sweetened carbonated beverages are a whole ‘nother story, however. Sometimes I get heartburn no matter how carefully I try to eat, and when I do I mix a little baking soda with some tepid, filtered water and drink it. Basically that’s what seltzer is, except that some brands of seltzer have a little salt added – to me, that represents a good thing although the medical establishment tries to scare people away from salt.
Tonic water is a different thing entirely – has a little sugar (not the worst thing in the world) to quell the bitter taste of the quinine, which used to be used for malaria – wonder why it still isn’t being used? A good gin and tonic might be the best cure ever for malaria?!!
I used to work at a restaurant that served these; the owners were from new york. I have been craving fizzy drinks, maybe I will try this!
Sometimes when I renovate a home, it isn’t a full on gut renovation and the person or family is still living there (or I haven’t finished when their move in date arrived – stuff happens). It’s a two-way inconvenience on many levels but it has given me a window to see how others live in their own space with their own habits, traditions, rules etc.
One renovation in which people were living there while I worked I will always remember; It was a family of 6 which included grandparents. Grandpa was 94 years old and his lovely young wife was 90. They were quite a capable elderly couple although they did have a healthcare worker come in on occasion to “do things” with them.
Each day around 3 o’clock they would both sit at the island counter in the kitchen and have ice cream. They would hold each other’s hand. They would pass glances and words back and forth at each other like they were two kids in the corner store malt shop on Main Street stealing a few minutes of privacy after school let out. If their short-term memory was failing them I bet my last dollar their recall of those early wonder years are brilliantly triggered by this 3 o’clock ritual. That three o’clock ritual that included ice cream.
Sometimes, when the healthcare worker was not there and no one was minding their business they would sneak out of the house. They lived on riverside drive in Manhattan. They would always be found two blocks over on Broadway in the local ice cream parlor.
I started to think about ice cream’s role in the world that day I first saw them holding hands. I concluded that whenever one is having ice cream, at that moment, all is fine with the world. All is right in the universe. At the particular time that we are eating ice cream nothing is bad, nothing is wrong. If something was bad or wrong you would not, could not, be eating such a joyful thing – you wouldn’t have time for this thing that just had to be created for joyous moments only – you’d have to tend to the bad thing instead. Everyone is smiling when they eat ice cream, and if there isn’t a smile on some faces it’s because eating this delectable delight is serious business and you better back away while they’re eating it.
Fortunately, I have never been dumped to the extent where I flushed my cell phone down the toilet (or ripped the cord out of the wall back in the day) and plopped myself on the couch cradling a 5 gallon bucket of ice cream. But again, in that moment it is ice cream to the rescue! Now here, when being dumped, all is not right with the universe, but the rock we crawl under or the cave we hide in while we nurse our emotional wounds is stocked aplenty with the frozen confection, the gelatinous creamy bon-bon.
It is ice cream that gives us hope that in time all will be right with the world again. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said “An ice cream cone can solve any problem – even if it’s only for a few minutes”.
Oliver L
I love that story. My nanny and granddaddy used to make what they called milk shakes every evening during the summer. It was actually ice cream and their favorite soda. Nanny’s was RC cola and Granddaddy’s was cream soda. They whizz them up in the blender then go set out in the back yard and enjoy them. Your story reminded me of that. Have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing your story. I totally enjoyed reading it.
Thank you vikki – I just hoped it wasn’t too inappropriatly long. It was a true story and I always think of it when I think of icecream. You have a nice day as well. Ollie
@ Vikki: What you described isn’t a milk shake, it’s an ice cream float. Milk shakes are usually just milk, ice cream and some sort of flavoring – rather like a malt only without the malt powder. I never could stand the flavor of malt powder.
Usually, however, a float isn’t made in a blender, it’s just ice cream scooped into a glass and the soda is poured over the top. Still good on a hot summer day, even though people are aghast that I would occasionally take in a coke! Hey, I’m almost 60 years old, I think if I decide a coke is going to kill me one minute faster, I’ll be fine without that minute. People get a little too carried away with *rules and regulations about food* rather than enjoying their foods – especially favorite treats. Life would be pretty dull without them.
If you leave out the milk (for those allergic) it was called a Chocolate Phosphate!
RECIPE FOR fUZZY iCED cHOCOLATE
Ooh, this sounds like a treat I can get behind. What about replacing the seltzer with whey for a little more probiotic punch?
6512 and growing\’s last post: green
@ 6512 and growing:
Ewwwwwww.
Just make it the way Sarah says to make it and enjoy it rather than always trying to “improve” everything. Treat yourself to a sin occasionally!
yup as soon as you said seltzer, I knew. It’s a NY teat therefore also know as a New York Egg Cream. I grew up in upstate NY and have started remaking them with the original Fox’s U-Bet Chocolate syrup! It can be purchased on line if you can’t find it locally.
I love sweets but strive to serve my need to “indulge” by eating/drinking as healthfully as possible. Egg creams without the chocolate are made with vanilla. I put vanilla and stevia in pretty much everything besides vegetables. So, a great, healthy drink similar to this but without Any guilt whatsoever is:
Part milk or cream or condensed milk or evaporated milk
Part seltzer/sparkling water
Dash of vanilla
Stevia
Ice
Stir and blend parts according to taste. I find you need a bit of extra milk if it’s skim, and more stevia than you might put in coffee or tea.
Mmm!
An aside: another healthy delectable is to put these in a blender:
Frozen banana, stevia, cinnamon, cocoa powder, ice, vanilla, milk, yoghurt, a bit of almond bitter if you want.
I make a whole bunch without Any guilt and it serves any craving for ice cream!
@ Chloe: (Love the name – same as my granddaughter!)
Evaporated milk and condensed milks are not healthy options. Actually, unless you make it yourself, neither is vanilla.
Still, treat yourself to something fun, I say!
It’s called an “egg cream” you can still order it at some diners.
Amazing how I’d never heard of it before!
and they are super fun for kids..I remember my grandmother making them with me and my cousins..it was our special treat at grandma’s house!
On the west coast we call these Italian sodas. My favorite is with strawberry syrup!
Yup. I’m from Brooklyn. Egg Cream. Make it with Kefir, seltzer and home made chocolate syrup (water, molasses and chocolate powder ) and you will have the real thing
I made this a few weeks ago by accident…
I just made this with kefir and it was amazing! I think the bite of the kefir compliments the seltzer flavor.
yes! egg cream! thanks everyone…that I’m not the only one who knows the real name!
I am curious. He said Club Soda and you are using Seltzer (just carbonated water). Have you tried it with club soda, how does it change the taste?
Do you use your own recipe for chocolate syrup?
Probably most people haven’t heard of it unless you live in the Northeast.
Here is the Wikipedia site that tells about the history of the “Egg Cream” and why it got it’s name. Interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cream
This totally reminded me of cherry chocolate dr. pepper. In my past life, ha ha. Before that, I mixed chocolate with milk and different kinds of cola drinks. The kids and I thought it was weird sounding, but they tasted so good. This post is perfect, as it’s hot today, and while I usually only drink water and coconut water, I felt the need for something more. Perfect time for this, I’m on it. Mine will be raw milk, some chocolate, I may experiement with cocoa, and perrier. Aiden, 3 1/2 will love it I’m sure. Thank you!
No one remembers Tay Zonday singing the cherry chocolate rain commercial? So out of character for him, it came from his original song chocolate rain, but he sings many other songs. Here’s the link for that, erase it if you think it’s a bit too racy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x2W12A8Qow
I’ve never had an egg cream either, not something you see a lot of down here in Tx. But I have heard of them, but truth be told it sounds nasty to me. But one of these days I’ll have to give it a try. I’m pretty adventurous where food is concerned, but drinking something new is a whole new ballgame. Don’t ask me why but it is.. Thank you for sharing your story and recipe. I’m one of those people that starts the conversation with the person behind me in line. I get bored very easily and need some one to talk too. I’ll pretty much talk to anyone. You never know when you might bring a little brightness into someone else’s life.
Take care, God bless you with health, love and peace.
@ Vikki: I agree. Visiting while in a waiting line is the best part of going shopping. I don’t get out very often (due to having my business in my home for over 12 hours each day) so when I do I’m a *visit-er* ! I have met oodles of interesting people, and I can always tell when people are grateful for the banter and when they just want you to go away, so I take my cue after the first sentence.
It’s called an Egg Cream because the white foam on the top looks like frothy egg whites…
Hi Sarah
I thought WP foundation suggests not to give kids chocalate. You seemed to have relaxed your stance on chocalate abit. Any thoughts?
We called this drink a Spider however we put a scoop of homemade icecream in the bottom ( maybe chocalate flavour) and fill it up with soda water
One really important factor here is to be open enough that you CAN strike up conversations with complete strangers…you never know what you might learn!
A Boston egg cream!!! I love this too, even though I’m really young. I live in LA and a local deli has served it since before I can remember. I didn’t like it at first, but then I started to crave it on really hot days.
Drinking chocolate egg creams helped me stop my cola addiction. Here’s the recipe I used:
1-2 oz chocolate syrup
1-2 oz cold milk
8-10 oz very cold seltzer water
From – http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/10/chocolate-egg-and-cream-fuggeddaboutit.html
Ahhhhh…….Egg Creams! A New York Diner staple! I have so many memories of my early twenties living in NYC, too poor to afford more then diner food. It was during this time that I developed a love for egg creams. It has now been years since I’ve had one, but seeing your post makes me want to make one right now. And I like the use of raw milk in it
I live on the left coast, in Berkeley and we have this amazing place called Saul’s http://saulsdeli.com/ They have a pretty awesome chocolate egg cream soda that I get when I am in the area for the weekly Farmer’s market.
Sarah, as a teen I worked in an ice cream store. We made chocolate egg creams as follows: 1 ounce heavy cream, 1 shot of chocolate syrup, stir the two together very briskly, then as you pour in the soda water, continue to stir briskly. YUM! It’s an old NY/Jewish treat.
Hi Sarah,
Is carbonated water safe to drink on a regular basis? …I really hope it is as I love it!
Canfields Cola Company in Chicago used to have the same sort of beverage, in a can… Chocolate Soda. It was SOOOO good, and came in regular and diet – of course, these were treats before my conversion
I think some of us had this kind of drink in Manila. Listing the ingredients down made us think of the 80′s here, when an ice cream company had its own restaurant.
I enjoyed my own vaguely similar drinkable treat just this afternoon — raw homemade Bulgarian yogurt with a spoonful of mineral-rich blackstrap molasses mixed in. It was heavenly!!
I was at the grocery the other day and an elderly gentleman asked me how I stayed so thin
I told him “eating lots of butter” and he smiled. Come to find out, he was familiar with WAPF! It’s always fun to meet new folks at the store…
Oh, and check out my latest post on another cold drink- Kombucha Slushies! Enjoy
I have been making this for years. I only drink one glass yearly. They are delicious and just the thing when you have a sweet tooth.